Jungwoo Group

On December 16th, the Jeongheon Foundation of Jungheon Building will hold an award ceremony in the conference room

▲ (From the left of the photo) Chairman Seo Min-seok of the Jungheon Foundation, Chairman Jung Woo-bina Oh Byung-chul (Management Division), CEO and Research Institute Director Min Ki-hoon of Seowon Tech (Technology Division) © TIN News © TIN News



The Jungheon Foundation (Chairman Seo Min-seok) selected Oh Byung-chul, chairman of Jungwoo Vina Co., in the management category, and Min Ki-hoon, CEO and research director of Seowon Tech Co., Ltd., in the technology category, as winners of the 42nd Jeongheon Textile Industry Award, hosted by the foundation (Chairman Seo Min-seok) to commemorate the achievements of those who contributed to the development of the domestic textile industry.



Chairman Oh Byung-chul of Jungwoo Vina Co., Ltd., the winner of the business management division, is a living witness of the textile industry in Korea, which has taken only one path for more than 50 years. Founded in 1982, Jungwoo Textile Co., Ltd. has grown into a global company in the textile and materials sector with a total of seven operations in Korea, Guatemala and Vietnam.



Chairman Oh Byung-chul is said to have produced and exported $250 million in knit fabrics annually with 280,000 kilograms of knitting production, 100,000 kilograms of dyeing, and 130,000 YD printing production capacity, the world's largest single plant, and raised the status of the Korean textile industry to the global market.



Jungwoo Vina, founded in 2005 as a fabric export trading company, has greatly contributed to the increase in exports by winning the $70 million export tower this year through direct transactions with global buyers despite the unfavorable COVID-19 situation.



Since 2016, three companies, TARGET buyers, U.S. Unifie, a plastic raw material company, and Korea's Jungwoo Vina, have jointly developed "Repreve Recycle," a recycled poly yarn that synthesizes cotton and polyester by making yarn from fat bottle chips.



As a result, it received good responses from consumers in the American market and currently won an order for recycled clothing of 18 million yards per year and about 23 million dollars in amount, which won Target's Best Company Award in 2017 in recognition of its role in eco-friendly protection.



Chairman Oh Byung-chul has contributed significantly to the development of the Korean textile industry over the past 50 years by purchasing domestic raw materials, coexisting with suppliers, creating jobs for young people, and taking the lead in corporate social responsibility while expanding the export market through continuous research and development and facility investment.



Min Gi-hoon, CEO of Seowon Tech Co., Ltd., who is the winner of the (technical) category, is a textile expert who has been developing textiles and yarns for more than 20 years. After working in the textile engineering department at Chungnam National University and the textile system engineering department at Kyungpook National University, he joined Toray Saehan (currently Toray Advanced Materials) in 1999 and led the development of yarns differentiated as a lead researcher.



He participated in the development and commercialization of NP/C products, microfabric late hair process, PTT/PET potential winding company, acquired ISCRA-S technology development level 1, DEX technology development level 2, textile technology company, etc., and won the Parts and Materials Technology Award (Minister Award) and the Textile Day Research and Development Merit Award.



Since the start of Seowon Tech Co., Ltd., which manufactures speakers and temporary materials in 2014, it has developed a variety of flexible composite yarn products with new characteristics through processes such as stretching, heat treatment, and mixing of two or more fibers with different characteristics, contributing to the development and technology improvement of the domestic textile material industry.



Seowon Tech is a research and development-oriented company that is set to produce more than 25,000 tons of differentiated composite companies from 8,000 tons this year to more than 25,000 tons from January next year, and has secured more than 16 trademarks and 22 patents. Recently, it is also taking the lead in environmental protection by developing and investing in mass production of eco-friendly recycled fiber materials recycled from waste PET bottles.



Achieving high sales performance, it received the Korea Development Institute's Technology Commercialization Merit Award, the Startup Promotion Agency's Startup Excellence Award, the Gyeongsangbuk-do Investment Promotion Award Special Award, and the 56th Trade Day Export Tower. It is pursuing continuous corporate growth with the goal of IPO listing and sales of 100 billion won in 2023.



The Jeongheon Textile Industry Award, which began in 1980 and marks its 42nd anniversary this year, consisted of four categories and special awards for technology, academic, management, and industrial promotion, and from the first to the 42nd, a total of 80 people won the awards with 41 in the technology sector, 17 in the academic sector, 13 in the management sector, 7 in the industrial promotion sector and 2 in the special awards. 



Since its establishment on June 25, 1979, the Jeongheon Foundation has paid about 6 billion won in various subsidies such as scholarships, research funds, and cultural and artistic support under the support of the late Jeongheon (靜軒), the founder of DI Dongil Co., Ltd., and about 3,000 beneficiaries. 



Reporter Kim Sang-hyun tinnews@tinnews.co.kr